Wasteland
by Relienna
Summary: The crash of the Exodus ship brings nothing but the feeling of helplessness. The Ark has been unresponsive to communications. The grounders are ready to start a war that no one is prepared for. It's time to leave. And it's Clarke and Bellamy that will lead them all through the wasteland... together. (Set after 1x09)
1. Anywhere But Here

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING FROM "THE 100" TV SERIES OR BOOK. I am simply a fan writing a story for fun.**

**A/N: Ok! I know a couple other people started their stories in a similar way - and I wanted to apologize if anyone thinks I am stealing their idea! I actually started writing this right after 1x09. When I was reading some of you guys' fellow fanfics the last couple days - I thought it was funny and neat that a few of us had similar ideas! (Great minds think alike! =D) Anyways, I hope you like my twist on what happens after the ship crash! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 1: Anywhere But Here**

Clarke's heart dropped into her the pit of her stomach as she fell to her knees. The cold chill of fear came over her body as realization of what she just saw washed over her. The Exodus ship... was destroyed. _Her mother_...

She could feel the ground tremor slightly from the impact and the fiery light of the explosion was still visible between the hills in the distance. The smoke cloud that had erupted from the site was slowly growing higher into the darkening night sky. Tears welled up in her eyes and a cry escaped her lips, "No... NO!" The yell was thick with despair and anger. She took and deep ragged breath... and then Clarke suddenly leaped up from her spot on the hard ground and moved to run in the direction of the crash. She barely made it 3 steps when a hand hooked her arm and whipped her around.

"Clarke, what are you _doing_?" It was Bellamy. She had already forgotten she was just talking to him. "What do you think!? We have to look for survivors! There has to be _someone!_" She replied. A couple of the tears that had formed in her eyes had started to fall. She was trying to tug her arm away from him so she could continue her pursuit. She pulled and pulled, but his grasp wouldn't break.

"With an explosion like _that_? Clarke, we both know the chances are-"

"_We have to check!" _She shouted at him. She was full on sobbing now. Her attempts to break free had weakened and she fell back to her knees on the ground in front of him. Bellamy looked down at her helplessly. Sadness washed over him and he turned his attention up at the crash site. How could it go so wrong? Why were they attempting to come 2 days early? Something in his gut told him that there was a problem - one a lot bigger than just the ship crashing. He looked back down at Clarke crying on the ground at his feet. His front was to her side. He knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder with soft eyes.

"Clarke, I'm so sorry." His voice was just above a whisper, "But we can't go out there tonight. Not after what just happened with the grounders."

"You can stay here. I'll go." She said, the sound was constricted - her voice heavy from crying. She moved to stand, but he kept his hand on her shoulder. "I'm not letting you go out there alone! Are you insane?" He sounded irritated, but concern was laced in his voice. She pushed him off her, which surprised him, and she stood.

"My _mother was_-"

"_I know_!" She was taken back by the anger in his yelled reply. They were both standing, facing each other now. There was silence for a few seconds, "Clarke, I understand. Completely... But I need you - we need you, just as much as you said you need me. I can't just let you walk out there to your death! We can go first thing tomorrow. There is nothing we can do for any survivors in the dark - with no idea how to get there. Especially with a tribe of angry grounders wanting our heads on pikes."

He was right. He was absolutely right. She was letting grief get in the way. She needed to be strong and disconnected like she always tried to be. Clarke wiped the tears from her cheeks and sniffed before nodding once. She would have to shut it out. She needed to turn everything off and go back to leader status until she could safely be productive. It was just then a thought it her, "The radio!"

Bellamy's expression turned from concerned to confused, "What?"

"We need to contact the Ark - tell them what happened!" Bellamy nodded in response and they both made haste through the gateway into camp and passed through the concerned rest of the hundred into the drop ship where they moved the communications center to at night time. Clarke practically threw the headset on and started up the radio, hitting the button to transmit the signal. Bellamy stood behind with a hand on the chair. Suddenly Finn, Raven and Miller were in the room.

"What the hell was that?" Finn demanded immediately, pointing his hand in the direction of the door, referring to the crash, "Everyone is freaking out."

Bellamy sighed heavily and gave them a serious look, "We think it _was_ the Exodus ship."

Raven brought a hand to her mouth and Miller's eyes widened. Bellamy turned his attention to Finn who now spoke, "What? Two days early? Has anyone mentioned them calling to tell us about this?"

Bellamy became annoyed quickly, "I don't know, genius. We were in the same death trap you were 10 minutes ago!" He replied, meaning the 'meeting' with the grounders. "We haven't talked to anyone yet. Clarke ran in here right after I deferred her from her suicide mission to check for survivors." As if on queue, Clarke's angry fist hit the desk causing a slam.

"Damnit! Something is wrong." She stated, hitting the radio buttons with an irritated fast frequency. Raven pushed passed Finn and Bellamy to join Clarke at the radio table, leaning down and looking it over. "Nothing should be wrong - green light is on, meaning our outward signal is working fine. If there's an issue it's on the Ark's end." The screen was lit up, but it just showed blank darkness. The Ark couldn't receive the call. "But... what does that mean?" Clarke said, turning to look at Raven. Their worried expressions were mirrored. Raven took a deep breath, "Wait... the communications - they shut down earlier today. Randomly. The transmission clicked off during the Unity Day pageant. That means it's been down for hours." She said with realization. Her eyes were wide with panic.

Bellamy licked his lips and looked down at them, "I'm guessing a power outage and releasing a drop down here 2 days early is neither a coincidence or any form of good news." The feeling in his gut he had before was back at full strength. He had a feeling the everyone else was just as numb as he was right now. _Help wasn't coming_. _Their people weren't coming_. The fear was intense.

They had just pissed off the only other people on this planet - started a war. And in the same day their home in the sky just... disappeared. The white hot dread spread through his body. They were dead. There was a target on their back and the amount of weapons they had was a joke. Clarke must have been thinking all of the same things, because she spoke before he could, "We have to leave. We can't stay here." Her voice was flat, almost robotic sounding. She couldn't think about her mother. She wouldn't.

Finn was the first to speak, "What are you talking about? Where the hell are we going to go?"

"Somewhere that's not fucking here." Bellamy replied with a miserable tone. "We pretty much signed our own death sentence a half an hour ago. We stay here and try to fight - we're finished." Everyone in the room's eyes hit the floor knowing he was right. "So. How are we gonna break it to them, Princess?" Finn flashed Bellamy a mildly irritated look at the use of _his_ nickname. But, chose not to say anything. Clarke removed the headset and stood with a sigh. "Very carefully. They're going to panic."

"They're already panicking." Finn stated, nodding his head in the direction of the doorway.

Clarke was trying to mellow her internal freak out as best as she could. Between her mom-_don't even think about that_,the Ark being MIA, the grounders and the idea of trying to move 90 something people a few weeks before winter was going to hit... She was slowly hitting the top of the "TOO MUCH SHIT" meter. Never mind the whole never ending love triangle with Finn and Raven. As much as she put on her blank face and told Finn it didn't matter - it_ did _matter. _He _mattered despite how much he had been aggravating her lately. But this was definitely not the time to be thinking about that.

"Well, sooner is better than later." Bellamy declared before storming for the parachute covered doorway. It made an angry flapping noise as he pushed through. Miller didn't waste haste in following and Raven wasn't far behind him. Clarke wiped her hand with her face and followed suit, but just as she was about to make it through the door way a hand placed itself on her shoulder. Finn.

"Clarke... I'm so sorry, I know your mom was supposed to be on the first-"

"_Don't_." Clarke stopped him harshly. The tears threatened her eyes again, "Just don't."

And they both took a step outside where Bellamy had already begun rounding up everyone. "We have a problem. A big one." He declared. Everyone's faces were filled with terror and many of them could barely stand still with the anxiety. "We believe that crash was the Exodus ship. We don't know why they launched early, but communications with the Ark have been severed all day. Something up there has gone wrong." People began whispering frantically to each other as he said this. "Now, I will tell you that we attempted to make some sort of peace with the grounders today. Clarke went to speak with their leader." Hopeful eyes watch him.

"And they tried to snipe her down." Clarke rolled her eyes at this. _Sure, _that _won't inspire fear. _But, maybe they needed fear - maybe that's what would cause them to agree to leaving with no questions asked. There were a few gasps with his announcement. Finn was behind him trying not to mention that it was probably because Jasper shot his weapon first.

"We can't stay here." Bellamy continued, "We have guns, but they aren't enough. Not for the kind of war that the grounders are thinking of starting. Winter is coming and we cannot survive here anyways."

"But where will we go?" Someone in the back shouted. Bellamy shook his head and there was a silence, "... Anywhere but here." He shot a sideways glance, bringing his eyes to Clarke. He was asking her for help. She took a few steps forward and stood next to him.

"We need to find somewhere warm. Or at least somewhere with better supplies to build warmer shelter. The map the Ark sent us with suggests there was a military base about 40 miles behind us. There could be a bunker there. I hadn't considered it before because it's a long trip... but the further from the grounders' territory the better." The whispers started up again as everyone took in this information. Bellamy and Clarke made eye contact again. He had his usual smirk on his face and his eyes were curious. Why hadn't she mentioned it before? She gave him a sheepish smile and turned her attention back to the group, "We leave at dawn."

As everyone began their chatter, Clarke moved to head towards her tent. She was tired, she was emotional and all she wanted was the tiny amount of privacy that her tent provided her with so she could ball her eyes out while she packed her belongings. Not that there was much to pack. As soon as she reached it she realized she heard footsteps behind her. Clarke could feel the exasperation building up in her - expecting to see Finn, but she was surprised when she turned to find Bellamy there.

"Leave at dawn, huh? What about the crash site?" He asked, folding his arms.

"We both know there aren't any survivors." She said flatly, but her eyes showed nothing but pain. Bellamy frowned and nodded, "Alright. So, did you pull that military base out of your ass or did you just never feel like bringing it up?" He tilted his head.

"It's a long shot. We both know it was probably blown to bits. But that's what it says on the map. There _could _be a bunker underneath where it was. _Or_, it could be a giant heaping pile of nothing that's been over grown with forest." She replied. The exhaustion was showing in her voice and Bellamy felt that it was time to let her sleep... and grieve. He nodded once and was at a loss for words. He turned to leave, but before he did he gave her one last look filled with sincere concern.

"I'm sorry, Clarke." It was just above a whisper, filled with remorse for her. And then he left her standing ther.

She knew he was referring to her mother. And it was his voice - his usually rough voice - that sounded so soft that broke her. The sob escaped her lips and she brought her hand to her mouth before disappearing into her tent and collapsing onto her blankets. She let the despair wash over her until she couldn't hold her eyes open anymore.

**A/N: I hope you guys liked it! I'm **_**trying **_**to move at a realistic pace - but I'm itching to write the potential adorable scenes between Clarke and Bellamy probably as much as you'd like to read them! So I'll try to have another chapter out today! Please review! I would love to hear your guys' thoughts!**


	2. Friends

**A/N: Ok! After 3 hours I wrote another one! And let me tell you, I was on fire! The words flew out of my fingers! I haven't been able to write this long of a chapter in awhile! So, I hope you like it!**

Chapter 2: Friends

Shortly after the sun had risen everyone had packed up their belongings - the few that they had. They used blankets and tarps as bags, gathering food and some of the smaller weapons up. Between all of them they were able to take just about everything. Clark used some vine to tie her own blanket closed into the make-shift pouch and felt a bit like a cartoon character as she used a long branch to hold it up over her shoulder. Her own bag was filled with some snacks and the little bit of medical supplies they had. The group had already been walking in the forest for an hour now. The smoke of the crash site was barely visible in the air behind them. The trip to the military base would take 2 days at the least. Not everyone could walk at the same pace and the group was already tired before leaving from constantly building and scavenging.

Everyone was surprisingly quiet during the trip. The only sounds were the crunching of twigs and leaves from footsteps and the birds chirping in the trees. No one felt the need to talk. It was depressing, but peaceful at the same time. Clarke was glad for the silence. She had still felt mildly aggravated about her conversation with Finn this morning.

_Clarke stepped out of her tent. The sun was just starting to rise. She figured she'd get an early start on gathering stuff from the drop ship. Finn was standing outside the entrance when she got there. Somehow he had a feeling that's where she'd be headed at first light. Clarke nodded at him and gave a half smile as she approached. "Where's Raven?" She asked, looking around. "Sleeping." He replied. Great. That's all she needed - more reason for the occasional angry stares and looks of betrayal. "I see." She went to walk past him into the drop ship, but he spoke again._

_"Is this really a good idea? What if the Ark's communications come back on? We won't be here, we won't respond and then what will they think? You and Bellamy made this decision too quickly." He ran a hand through his hair and stared at her. Intently. Right in her eyes. Clarke kind of hated when he did that. Only because it felt like the emotions in them were pointing more at their awkward romantic-like situation and less about her leadership choices. "Time isn't really a luxury right now, Finn. Or did you forget the arrows buzzing by our heads yesterday on the bridge?"_

_"I could talk with Octavia - we could talk with Lincoln. Explain that Jasper was paranoid - that it was an accident." He was gestering with his hands while he spoke, giving her a hopeful look. Clarke sighed, "Finn, I know you want peace... But their leader told me something. The flares we fired to signal the Ark destroyed one of their villages. They think we _wanted _to start a war. Nothing I was saying was making her sway in her decision. I thought I was maybe making a dent of progress at the end, but then Jasper fired the shots." She paused and he was now leaning against the drop ship, staring at the wall of it with dismay. "We don't know how long we have until they make a move. We need to leave."_

_He nodded in defeat and looked at her with sad eyes, "So then let's talk about us." She practically growled in distaste at the idea, "In what context?"_

_"You are still mad at me for not telling you about Raven. You haven't been including me in any decisions. You don't trust me anymore - part of the reason yesterday failed is also because _you _didn't listen to me and asked _Bellamy _of all people to be your back up and bring guns! If you hadn't done that then Jasper wouldn't have been there and he wouldn't have freaked out. I feel like your are letting your judgement get clouded because I hurt you. And I'm _sorry_ about that, but you can't keep putting your faith in Bellamy!" He had practically exploded. He wasn't yelling, as to not wake up those still sleeping in their tents, but he was speaking harshly._

_Clarke blinked. Rage was building inside her. How dare he? "How dare you!" Finn crossed his arms._

_"How dare you try to tell me that feelings for you are messing with my ability to lead people."_

_"That's not directly what I'm-"_

_"Shut up." She interrupted, "That's exactly what you are saying. You are saying that I'm trusting Bellamy over you because you didn't tell me about some girl. You seriously think you have _that _much effect over me? Need I remind you that I was the one that didn't want to talk about everything - _you _were! I wanted to just forget about it all and let you be happy with your girlfriend. Because I have more important things to do, like keep us alive." She spat. Finn opened his mouth to say something, but she kept going._

_"I made my decisions because the are genuinely what I thought was right. Bringing guns to camp were a good idea. Asking Bellamy to have my back _was_ a good idea. Because, Jasper shooting or not - there were still savage men pointing arrows at me in the trees even though _you _said _they _weren't bringing weapons. I make choices because I want to, not because I want to do the opposite of what you say just to piss you off." She threw out snidely before storming into the drop ship._

Just thinking about it set her blood on fire. Had he been serious? Did he really think she was that petty and air-headed? Clarke had always though she was a strong individual. She had never needed a man to feel important - those kind of thoughts had never crossed her mind. So she was truly insulted and baffled when Finn made it sound like just because their situation had hurt her - that she was suddenly a wild card taking whatever path was the stupidest and meant Finn would disagree with her. For revenge. And it wasn't even just regular revenge. It would be the type that put _everyone's _life in danger... was he serious?

Maybe she was overreacting. She was emotional for obvious reasons. She was tired. He had decided to talk about this when she was mentally at the intersection of "FUBAR" and "Exhausted". Even if she had reacted in an over dramatic fashion, it was still arrogant of him to assume that he had a hand in any of her leadership decisions. It was also arrogant of him to be assuming lately that he was her second in command or something. She thought back to when she and Bellamy had returned with the guns they found to the camp.

_"You and Bellamy are leading us down a dark and dangerous road... I wish you would've talked to me about it first." _

Not that Clarke was trying to sound like a... Princess. Which she mentally snorted about. But, it irked her. It bothered her that he was judgemental about her decisions when, if she remembered correctly, he had thought she should help lead them all in the first place. She sighed outloud. Bellamy was walking next to her, a couple feet away. He glanced at her questioningly, but she didn't notice - still lost in her thoughts. He took a moment to scan her face. She looked tired, worn down and a little pissed. "You ok?" He tossed out casually. Clarke visibly jumped and it made him smirk.

"Fine." Came her short reply. He faced forward again, deciding she obviously wasn't in a mood. He then looked to his right at his sister Octavia. Her expression was nothing short of dejected. Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks tear stained. She was still mad at him for this. Bellamy had not had a great start to his day either. His bright and early morning took off with a huge argument with his love-sick sister about probably never seeing the grounder again.

_"I want to stay behind." Octavia declared, shoving her way into Bellamy's tent. He threw a laugh out as he started putting things into the center of his largest blanket to pack up. "Like hell you are."_

_"I'll be fine, Bell. I'm grown up now. I can make my own choices and I choose to stay with Lincoln." She stated seriously, crossing her arms. She stared him down. His expression was like stone. He walked the few steps until he was directly in front of her and looked down at her, "16 is not grown up. And you are an idiot if you think he can protect you from the rest of his people. They _hate_ us, O. They want a _war_ with us. They will kill you and then they will probably kill him after they make him watch. I'm not letting my sister stay behind because she has a death wish and wants to be some savage's booty call." Octavia let out a gasp and moved her hand to slap him, but he caught her wrist, "You are coming with us today - even if I have to bound your hands and throw you over my shoulder. Understood?" His tone had been more cruel than he wanted it to be. He already regretted some of his words, especially since they still hadn't reconciled from their previous fight. He loved his sister. He didn't want to be the bad guy. But, this was non-negotiable._

_"I _hate _you." She spat with venom, forcefully pulling her wrist from his grasp._

_"Good. Hate me all you want. As long as you are alive and around to do so - I don't really care." And with a scream of exasperation she was out of the tent._

Bellamy knew she would hate him for a very long time. They hadn't been on good terms for the last few days and what he said this morning was probably tipping hopes of fixing things in the wrong direction. But, she was walking with them. She was here. And that was all that mattered. He heard her sniffle next to him and he felt a tinge of guilt. But, it was gone quickly. This is what was best for her.

It was when they reached hour five that everyone was starting to look like death. People were stumbling and Clarke knew it was time for a break. She looked at the people behind her panting and sweating - weak. Her eyes met Bellamy's and he nodded. "Ok, guys! Let's take a break! Grab a swig of water and have a snack. We'll sit for a bit and then keep moving until dark."

"But, please eat and drink conservatively!" Clarke chimed in, "We don't know if we'll find much else for awhile." Truthfully, Clarke was impressed they had made it five hours without a break. Sure, they weren't running a marathon, it was a relatively slow pace - but these kids had been living on next to nothing for almost three weeks. Clarke took a seat on the ground and had a couple bites of berries before drinking a gulp from her canteen. She could feel that she too was breathing heavy and was suddenly very aware of the mist of sweat covering her body. A part of her didn't know if she could keep walking until dark. But, she understood their haste. They wanted to get there and see if there was shelter so that they weren't just constantly exposed in the woods. They sat for a half an hour or so. People chatted a bit, ate some food for fuel and then Bellamy sounded the alarm to keep moving.

And despite Clarke's doubt - they did keep going until just before dark. There was a large clearing next to a small stream of water. Bellamy came to a stop and rose his hand in the air to signal they were going to make camp here for the night. Clarke didn't stop walking though - she headed straight for the water, dropped her knapsack, fell to her knees and began splashing her face. Bellamy watched with a raised eyebrow as others followed her example and sighed in pleasure at the feeling of the cool water on their sweat-stained faces.

"Alright, whoever helped carry the guns gets the first round of patrol duty. Everyone set up in a big circle and we'll spread the guards around the perimeter. We'll switch off every hour or so." And like worker bees they all did what they were told. The fifteen or so people that helped carry weapons each grabbed a gun and made their way to sit on the outer line. Everyone else spread out their blankets and tried to settle in to a comfy spot. Some people tried to make half-tents, draping material over branches in the ground to have the illusion of privacy. Clarke had only ever read about such things, but she felt a little bit like she was in a traveling circus.

Clarke unravelled her pack and put her objects in a neat pile next to her blanket - now spread out on the ground. She tried to get comfortable, laying on her back using her jacket as a pillow. She took a deep breath and stared up at the darkening sky and took in the beauty of the trees above her and focused on that - instead of how uncomfortable the hard ground was and how screwed she felt they all were. What if there was no bunker? What if there is no kind of food source? What if they just get there and die? ... What if Finn was right and she and Bellamy were just leading them all down a dark and dangerous path of nothingness. She tried to sleep. She tossed and turned and finally gave up with a growl of frustration. Damn her mind. Her body was so tired, but her mind wouldn't stop going. After, what she assumed was a couple hours, she gave up and stood to go for a short walk in the calm night air.

Clarke of course didn't expect to go too far without one of the people on patrol giving her a hard time, but she followed the stream up a little ways - taking her time with her steps, listening to the music that was the moving water. She could faintly hear some people snoring, a couple whispers here and there. She looked out at all the bodies lying around, resting up for another day of constant walking... to a semi-unknown destination. Her stomach flipped with the white hot fear of letting them down. Maybe Finn _was _right. She was leading them out on a whim - a quick and stupid decision. However, the decision still had nothing to do with him. Stupid ass. She could see him a little ways away, snuggled up with Raven. They looked peaceful, and Clarke felt sick.

She was about to turn around and go back to her spot when she noticed a familiar backside sitting on a log a few feet up. Clarke smiled and walked towards him. It was a good size log, a tree that had fallen over the stream like a bridge. He was sitting on furthest side close to camp where it didn't touch the water. Clarke realized as she approaced he was taking a large gulp of something and started coughing. It wasn't his water canteen, it was a thermos. She stopped directly behind him. "Are you drinking... alcohol?"

"The last of Monty's moonshine." Bellamy said simply. Clarke scoffed, "You're supposed to be on watch."

"I'm watchin'." He said, gesturing the thermos to the woods infront of him. He hadn't even tossed her a glance yet.

"Well, goodluck shooting a panther with double vision." She teased, putting a hand on her hip. Bellamy chuckled and looked over his shoulder at her - extending the drink. "Want some? It tastes like 'carefree'." He joked. Clarke's first instinct was to say no, call him an idiot and go back to bed. But, she didn't want to. She could use a drink and she feared laying back down meant more torturing thoughts about their impending doom. "Why the hell not."

She snatched the drink from him and climbed over the log to sit beside him, taking a large gulp. The liquid burned all the way down and as soon as the thermos left her lips she wheezed. Bellamy patted her back as she coughed, laughing at her. "Carefree -huh?" She sputtered, "Tastes more like battery acid."

"Well, it's not really about the taste anyways - more the feeling." There was silence for a few moments. They passed the moonshine between the two of them. Watching the trees, the stars - the alcohol putting a sharp, yet hazy view on all of it. Clarke finally spoke, "You think this was a dumb decision? Leaving?"

"I think it doesn't matter where we go. It's going to be equally as hard to survive. At least in this scenario we have a chance to not be tortured and skinned alive." Bellamy said with ease, taking another sip. "We can just starve and freeze to death instead." Clarke stated.

"That's the dream." He jested in response. Clarke slumped next to him, the alcohol worsening her feelings of despair. Bellamy looked at her and nudged her shoulder with his, "Hey."

She looked at him.

"Well be ok. They're tougher than you give them credit for. They are _prisoners _after all." He nodded his head backwards towards the camp. "We'll find food, we'll find water. Build houses. Re-populate. The whole she-bang." Clarke thought about this. A society. Houses, people having children. Taking care of children. It was a much larger picture in the end. It wasn't _just _surviving. He was right, once they found a home - it would have to actually be home. The fait of what was left of their own people rested on ninety juvenile deliquents... It was a sad thought. What kind of future did they seriously have?

"Thank you, by the way. For helping me get pardoned with Jaha. I realized I never actually said that to you." Bellamy said suddenly. Clarke met his eyes, "Not like it matters now." He nodded in response, "No, it doesn't. But, you still deserve the gratittude. You helped me and believed in me when I didn't deserve it."

"...Are we friends now?" Clarke asked and Bellamy seemed taken back by the question. It was a reasonable question. They had been in a truce for a little while now, working as partners. He thought back to when they first arrived on Earth and Bellamy had plotted to kill her because she wouldn't take off her wrist band. He was an idiot. He was right in the woods the other day when they were alone - he _was_ a monster. But, she told him he wasn't. She told him she needed him. She saved his life twice in one day. She stopped Dax from shooting him and she convinced Jaha to pardon him. He was thankful.

"Yes." He said simply and smiled at her. It was small and sweet. She smiled back. He watched her as she took another drink of the moonshine, swaying in her seat as she did so. He took it from her, "Thaaaat might be enough for you." Clarke went to grab at the bottle in protest, but he held it out of her reach. She pouted playfully at him, her long blond hair framing her face prefectly. _She's beautiful_. His brow furrowed at that thought and Clarke's own brow did the same at his expression. "What is it?"

He shook his head, "Nothing, I'm just... I'm just drunk." He ended simply, flashing her a big smile and moving to stand. "It's been over an hour, I'm going to get Miller to take my place. You should get some rest." He turned to leave and her hand grabbed his.

He looked down at her creamy hand in his darker one, confused. His eyes met hers. "I... I'm glad we are friends." Her speech was the one to slurr this time and he smiled before nodding.

"Me too, Princess."

**A/N: TA-DA! Hope you enjoyed it! Please review! I don't know if I'll be able to update again for a a little bit, I work long hours the next couple days. But I promise there will be an update within the week!**

**Also, thank you too all of you so far who have followed/favorited my story! I appreciate it!**


	3. Comfort

**A/N: I'M BACK! Sorry for the wait! I work four 10 hour shifts a week at my job instead of your typical 9 to 5, and I worked 3 of my days in a row this week - so I didn't have any time or energy to write. But! It gave me much needed time to think about the story!**

**Also, I'd like to apologize for the typos that were present in both chapters 1 and 2. I **_**did **_**re-read them before I posted them up, but I was so excited to publish that I still wound up missing some really stupid mistakes. (I **_**do **_**know "fate" is not spelled "fait". Just to clarify. Haha!)**

**And lastly, I can't believe I have reached almost 50 story followers already in just a few days! Thank you so much for the support and interest you all have shown! I appreciate the follows, the favorites and the kind reviews!**

**THE STORY RATING HAS BEEN CHANGED TO 'M'.**** This chapter has a darker scene in it. It is not that graphic, but it is a scene that involves attempted rape. So I have changed the rating to be on the safe side, since I know it is obviously something that can make people uncomfortable. **

**YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED****.**

**(PS: This is the only time that this kind of scene will appear - this is not supposed to be a dark story over all.)**

**Chapter 3: Comfort**

When Clarke awoke the next morning her head was throbbing. She had never had a hang over before, but she found herself thankful for the feeling. She was happy that Bellamy had decided to share the burning liquid with her. Once she returned to her blanket last night and finally collapsed to sleep - she slept instantly. There were no sad or painful thoughts about failing them or surviving. There was only deep and blissful slumber. Clarke was so sure what her body felt was worth the sleep, until she stood up and felt the nausea. Her face showed how she felt. It was scrunched up with a mixture of disgust and pain. She made a low noise in the back of her throat at the gross feeling in her stomach. _Ok, maybe not that worth it_.

Everyone was slowly getting up and packing their things. From how the sky looked, Clarke figured It had only started to get light out about an hour or ago. Clarke noticed a few people emerging from the woods around the group, guns slung over their shoulders. There was at least 10 of them. They were holding blankets out in front of them like baskets and announced they had found some more fruit and nuts. The blankets looked full enough that Clarke was impressed. They started to weave through everyone - trying to disperse even amounts of the food around. She scanned the crowed and found Bellamy watching the men. His expression gave it away that he had sent them out to find the food. It was only a few minutes when a blonde guy approached her with his makeshift basket, offering her some. Clarke recognized him from Unity Day. He had been playing a drinking game with her before Finn had interrupted with his plan for "peace."

"Thanks, Tim." Clarke said kindly as she took a handful of the food. It was the usual - nuts and berries. And if Clarke was being honest, her stomach felt so sick she didn't really want to eat them. But, she knew she needed the strength the was necessary for the journey today. She gulped them down, barely chewing, wanting to get it over with. But, the bitter taste that was now forming in her cheeks threatened to bring the food right back up. She was at the stream's edge almost instantly, shoveling water into her mouth. The guy, Tim, behind her rose his eyebrows and made his way to her side. He was awkwardly juggling the blanket of food as he knelt down.

"Woah, are you ok, Clarke? You look kinda pale." He barely knew her and he was concerned. Clarke found this sweet of him, but also annoying because she didn't really want anyone to witness her potential up-heaving directly next to her. "Do you want me to get someone? I mean, you are the go-to medic, so I don't know-" He tried to continue, but Clarke cut him off by reaching out and grabbing his arm. She imagined she looked kind of scary. She was shaking and pale on her knees with water dripping down her front. She could feel the dark bags that were probably under her eyes. _I'm so glad we don't have mirrors._

"I'll be ok... I'm just over tired. Please, keep handing out rations." She forced out, sounding as normal as possible. Tim's eyes still showed concern, which she appreciated, as he nodded and moved to continue his assignment. Clarke didn't think she had drank_ that _much last night, but her tolerance was next to nothing. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she didn't really remember walking back to her blanket - she just remembered reaching it and being _so _excited about it before basically collapsing and passing out. _No moonshine for awhile._ She scolded herself, drinking another handful of water. No more drinking for her until they found a home. She can't be vulnerable like that in the woods - even if she _was _surrounded by people with weapons. It was irresponsible.

Before she knew it they were on the move again. Every step was miserable. Between her head aching and her stomach flipping - she was a mess. She would close her eyes and take a deep breath now and again, trying to hold herself together. Clarke did not want to vomit. Especially since she was at the front of the line. People would see and they would question her and probably panic - thinking she had some illness that they were all going to die from. Then she would have to admit she just had a nasty hang over - and that their _other _leader had been the one who gave her the alcohol. Since, he too, had been drinking... while he was supposed to be on watch. They were model examples.

Clarke chuckled at the thought and this caused Bellamy to glance at her questioningly from his spot next to her. When he did, he realized he hadn't looked at her all morning. She looked like shit. Her skin was a lot lighter than usual, her eyes were dark and she looked as if she wanted to hurl. He couldn't control the smirk that formed on his lips at the realization. "Oh princess, I'm so sorry." He murmured quietly, "I didn't cut you off soon enough."

Clarke's wide eyes met his. She looked over her shoulder to make sure no-one was listening. Despite the previous day's depleting events, people seemed more lively. They were quietly talking amonst themselves. No one was looking at either of them. She brought her attention back to Bellamy, "You shouldn't have had to cut me off at all - I shouldn't have been participating." She whispered harshly. He rolled his eyes.

"Everyone deserves a little fun, Clarke. Yours was cut short the other night." He responded quietly, referring to the Unity Day party. "Besides, you were kind of cute all sulky and stumbly." He teased. His smirk grew to a playful smile as he felt her hand slap his shoulder. He was disappointed when she didn't smile back. _Always so serious._

"It's _not_ funny. I don't remember my walk back to my bed. It was a short walk, but we can't afford to have any kind of black outs in the middle of the woods, Bellamy."

"Is it supposed to be my fault you're a light weight?" He jested. _Does he ever take anything seriously? Besides death!?_

Clarke gave him a deadpan look. She sighed. He decided to change the subject. "How much longer until we reach the base?"

She adjusted her blanket-bag in her hands to pull the map out of her pocket. Bellamy reached his hand out to hold the bag for her. Their eyes met and she gave him a small appreciative smile, allowing him to take it. They continued moving while her eyes scanned the pages. She honestly didn't know how far they had gone, only that they were moving in the right direction. "At the pace we are going, I think it's more realistic to bet it going to take closer to 3 or 4 days." She said finally. He was looking forward at the stretch of woods. Clarke could tell he wasn't happy with this news.

"I can already start to feel the air getting colder, Clarke." He said seriously, holding her bag out to the side for her to grab after replacing the map in her pocket. "It won't be too many more days until dark means frost on the ground."

Clarke nodded, also looking forward. "I know. But, it's not like we can make them start jogging. Their energy is draining with every step and some of them are carrying heavy weapons."

"I'm only saying we need to be prepared. If winter sneaks up on us faster than we are ready for we need some kind of plan." He replied.

"Well... assuming it's still there, we are eventually supposed to come across a road. That road is supposed to lead to a town. But, of course, we have no idea if any buildings reside or if it's just a pile of ashes." She said, shrugging. "We could check it out and see if there is some kind of shelter to keep us warm for a night."

"Ok. It's worth looking into. There has to be something left in this wasteland." Bellamy responded. His tone had a hint of irritation to it. He was tired. Tired of walking. Tired of just surviving. He would never say he missed the Ark, but he missed normalcy. He missed having some kind of home. He wanted to not have to worry about what and when his next meal will be. He wanted his sister to be safe and have friends and be allowed to _live _a real life.

Clarke studied his face as they walked in silence for a few moments. She took in the beauty of the sun shining threw the tree tops, illuminating the forest. The sound of their people talking quietly, contently, among themselves. Something caught her eye up ahead. It moved quickly, gracefully, around a cluster of bushes. Stopping from flower to flower. Its' wings were a blur of motion, but the bright green and pink colors of its' body and tail were still and visible. The creature was breathtaking. Clarke released a breath she didn't realize she was holding. _A hummingbird._

A smile lit up her face. Her footsteps started to slow as she stared at it. Bellamy seemed confused as Clarke had started to falter behind him. He followed her line of sight and spotted it too. It was such a fragile, but exquisite creature. She looked at him, glowing with happiness at what she had saw. He couldn't help but smile back.

They walked for hours and hours. There was a small break for lunch like the previous day. But, they continued to push on through the exhaustion and pain. Beads of sweat poured down the sides of Clarke's face. The sky told her it would be dark in a couple of hours, and she internally rejoiced knowing that meant they could stop soon. She didn't care how hard the ground was - she couldn't wait to lay on it. An ache in her side was starting up and she winced. _You can make it, Clarke. Don't be such a pansy._

It was then she heard a concerned voice yelling from the middle of the crowed behind her. "Clarke! Clarke!" She recognized it immediately. Finn.

Everyone in the group slowed to a halt as he came running up to the front, weaving through people. Clarke and Bellamy had turned to face everyone. Both of them panting lightly. Their hair sticking to their faces. Finn was in the same shape - sweat stains and dirt. His chest rising and falling at a quicker pace from running up to them. "C-Clarke... a girl... she collapsed." He choked out. He was now bending down, his hands on his knees, taking deep breaths.

Clarke looked tiredly at Bellamy with a sideways glance, "We have to stop."

He took in and let out a deep breath before nodding, "Yeah. Yeah ok." His attention was on the group of delinquents now, "We're stopping! Same formation as last night! Get some rest - hopefully we'll cover more ground tomorrow!"

There was a big sigh of relief from everyone as they moved into a giant circular formation and started setting up places to rest. Clarke, however, rushed to the girl that collapsed. She and Finn got there at the same time, both kneeling down at her side. She was maybe a little younger than Clarke. She had long red hair and freckles. Clarke placed her fingers against the girl's wrist and felt her pulse. Steady. She felt her forehead.

"Seems like she's just fainted from exhaustion." Clarke stated, a sad tone in her voice. She moved to place the girl's head on her lap. Finn handed Clarke a canteen. She poured a small amount of water into the girl's mouth. She swallowed with a moan. Her eyes fluttered open. "Welcome back." Clarke said with a smile. The girl didn't respond, just blinked tiredly.

"She needs rest and hydration. You ok with watching her?" Clarke felt as if she sounded like a robot. Her voice was detached. So were her eyes when they finally met Finn's as she stood up.

"Yeah. Yeah, I can do that." His eyebrows were crinkled and the emotion in his gaze was piercing. "Clarke, about yesterday-"

"Not having this conversation right now." She cut him off, walking away from him. She past Raven as she walked away. They smiled weakly at each other. But, Clarke could still see the hurt and worry on Raven's face, just like Raven could probably see the annoyance and guilt on hers. Her emotions were a mess. Clarke still had feelings for Finn. She knew that wouldn't go away instantly. But, it helped the process to stay mad at him for what he had said to her yesterday. That's how she would keep this situation in a box for now. There was no time for the luxury of sorting out feelings.

She set up her little camp spot on a far edge of the circle, wanting to put some space between herself and others. But, she still had a good view of the entire camp ground. She had her blanket spread out on the ground now and was sitting on it. Her feet were killing her, stinging. Clarke bent down and gingerly pulled her shoes off of her feet. When she peeled her socks off, she winced. There were several angry, red, blisters on the bottom of her feet. She whimpered as she gently ran a finger over one. She plopped her head down onto her jacket with a grunt. It was still a little light outside, but she wanted to rest. And it came easy this time. Her body was too weak to let her mind bother her with morbid and controlling thoughts.

Her sleep was short lived. When her eyes opened, she knew it had only been a couple hours. The night sky was staring down at her. Clarke sat up and looked around the camp. It was mostly quiet. The larger majority of the camp had taken to slumber. They were all still fairly visible in the light of the slowly dying fires that had been made. Clarke sighed and looked down at her feet. They were a little less red, but still painful. She groaned in the back of her throat as she pulled her socks and shoes back on. _Well, walking is going to be fun tomorrow._ She wondered how many others feet were in the same condition. Their pace was probably going to be considerably slower tomorrow. She shared Bellamy's fear of winter creeping up on them.

Just as he crossed her mind is when she saw him. He was leading some skinny brunette behind a tree on the other side of camp. Just before they disappeared behind the wide tree trunk, she saw their lips crash together - the girl's hands tangled in Bellamy's hair. Clarke rolled her eyes. They may respect each other. They may be friends now. But, she was suddenly filled with anger. Was he serious? Out here in the woods? Next to everyone? _He is one of the most frustrating human beings I have ever met. _She glared daggers at the tree they were behind. The last week or so she had thought she was finally understanding the man that is Bellamy Blake. He had a hard childhood - raising a girl that wasn't allowed to exist. He didn't like to kill or to hurt people - he didn't like who he was when he did those things. He had saved her life almost three times since they got here.

_"Who we are, and who we need to be to survive are very different things."_

His voice range through her mind. He could be so calm, caring and wise when he wanted to be. That was the Bellamy she admired... Not the pretentious asshole who has threesomes and pulls girls behind trees in the woods when it's probably _his _turn again to be keeping watch again. She didn't know if she _actually _heard the giggle coming from the tree or if she imagined it - it was a pretty good distance away. But, she huffed in aggravation anyways and stood up to stomp out into the woods. She wouldn't go too far, she's wasn't a moron. She just needed even _more _space between her and people right now then her blanket on the edge was providing.

Bellamy was enjoying the purring sounds the brunette was making as he gripped at her hips and nipped at her neck. Bellamy didn't like being stressed. He didn't like being worried. And sex deterred the mind from both of those things. Now that he was out of alcohol, he figured he would go to option B. And Caitlyn was willing to volunteer for option B. And, so far, she was quite good at it.

Caitlyn tugged on his hair to pull his head back to hers, kissing him hungrily and pushing his jacket down his shoulders. His tongue ran along her bottom lip and she gasped, allowing his tongue to explore her mouth. He was just about to start unbuttoning her pants when she giggled. Bellamy smirked against her lips as she whirled him around, pressing his back against the tree. The motion had moved them into site of the camp slightly, but in this moment he didn't care. Caitlyn was moving her warm hands under his shirt, gliding smoothly across his abdomen and biting playfully at his neck. He let her have her fun, enjoying the feeling. His eyes briefly scanned across camp as she did. They did a double take. _Why? _Why_ does she do these things?_

There was Princess Clarke making her way through the trees _away_ from camp. She didn't have a gun, she didn't have _any _kind of weapon. She was just barging into the woods with her fists balled up. If Bellamy had a guess - her irate posture had something to do with Finn. But, at first glance he didn't see the spacewalker anywhere near her proximity. He did, however, see a dark figure. Someone with a black hoodie was following the path Clarke had just gone into the darkness of the forest. The hood was covering their head and their hands were tucked into their pockets. They both had disappeared into trees. Bellamy narrowed his eyes.

Caitlyn had just moved to start pulling up Bellamy's shirt, but he gently grabbed her wrists and started to pull away from her. "What's wrong?" She asked, pouting slightly. He looked at her apologetically, "Something I need to take care of." Was all he said before leaving her standing there, confused and self conscious...

Clarke enjoyed the smell of the trees and the crisp night air. It was a little colder than the night before, but not uncomfortably so. Not yet. It was cool and calming to her - soothing her thoughts of her stupid partner. And his stupid play thing he was making out with. Clarke didn't really know why it was bothering her so much. Back when they had base at the drop ship she knew about ladies leaving his tent on a regular basis. It wasn't shocking. And she had always just rolled her eyes and continued on with not giving a flying shit what Bellamy Blake did in his spare time. But, this wasn't spare time - this was migrating their people through open forest. They were vulnerable and tired. This was not the time to play sex-capades.

Then she heard a twig snapping behind her. Clarke whirled around and went to grab her knife... that was back by her sleeping spot. _Shit. _

She couldn't see who the guy was in front of her. He had a dark jacket on - the hood over his head was helping the darkness of the night cover his face. He was standing with his feet apart slightly and his hands at his sides. Clarke couldn't see his face, but she could tell he was staring her down. "What do you want?" She asked. She tried to sound like her usual strong self, trying to pretend that the fact she was unarmed wasn't terrifying.

He didn't say anything, nor did her give her any time to react as he ran forward at top speed and had her up against the trunk of a tree in seconds. Clarke would have screamed if the impact from the tree hadn't knocked the air out of her. The back of her head collided with the hard bark, causing a shooting pain through her neck. She gasped and a strangled sound came from her throat.

He had gathered up both of her wrists in one hand - pressing them hard against the tree above her head. The bark scraped into her skin. "No!" She grunted, trying to push against him, "Stop!" Her poor body was so sluggish and weak from the day. As scared and furious as she was about what was happening - every attempt to kick or pull was a pathetic one. But, Clarke fought. She yanked and growled and tried to slam her knees against him. He was stronger. He kept her hands pinned above her and held his body slammed against hers. His one free hand was struggling to fumble with the button of her pants with how much she was wiggling in her rage. "Get off!" She snarled.

She felt the chill of the air touch her lower abdomen as he finally got the button free. All her twisting and thrashing had moved the zipper down on its own. Clarke only froze for a split second from the shock, but the was enough time for him to attempt pulling the material down her hips. She cried out in fury and bottled up all of her strength - but before she went to thrash again with all of her might, the constricting feeling of his body was no longer there. And when he was snatched away from her so suddenly, her legs gave out from under her and she fell to the hard ground.

Bellamy had broke into a light jog as soon as he hit the edge of the camp where Clarke had strayed into the forest. He felt the irony of his frustration with Clarke when he realized he hadn't brought his gun with him, but like hell he was turning back to get it. But, all thoughts of that disappeared when he finally made it to Clarke... Pushed up against a tree by the guy he had saw follow her. He saw red.

Bellamy charged to the man and yanked him off of Clarke with a growl, throwing him to the ground behind him. There was no hesitation. He kicked him hard in the ribs once, then twice. The man's hood fell off when he leaned forward to painfully gasp for air, revealing pale skin and blue eyes. Bellamy didn't recognize him, and he didn't care. He jumped to straddle the guy, punching him hard. Over and over. He felt the crunch of the man's nose. He felt the wet warmth of his blood. He kept punching.

Clarke was gasping for breath at the trunk of the tree, watching as Bellamy punched the guy into oblivion. She pulled her pants back up and buttoned them quickly with shaky hands. She pulled herself up to a standing position. Her adrenaline was at the highest it could be. She felt as if her hearing was muted slightly. The sound of Bellamy's fist hitting flesh, and the grunts both men were emitting sounded so far away. She was limping towards their spot on the ground.

"Bellamy... stop." It was a quiet plea. Her voice cracked. But he wasn't relenting. Clarke could see the blood spilling from the man's nose and mouth. He was gasping for air - trying to lift his hands to fight Bellamy off. "You'll kill him!" She exclaimed now, finding her voice.

"Who _cares_!?" He yelled. He stopped punching to turn his head and look at her. Her expression was so broken, so tired. His was murderous. He stood up and kicked the man again - eliciting another yelp of pain. He rolled to his side, coughing.

"This doesn't fly. It is the very _fucking_ opposite of what is considered 'ok'." His voice was low and dangerous. Clarke had never really been scared of Bellamy before until this moment. His eyes were on fire.

"Obviously." Clarke breathed. Her eyes were brimming with tears and she looked down at the man with utter disgust and pain, "But, we don't kill."

Bellamy roared, causing Clarke to flinch. He picked up the guy from his collar, "Get up." He grumbled, and slammed him against a tree.

"Please... stop..." He begged. Bellamy only stared at him, his expression stone.

"What's your name?" He demanded. The man, covered in blood, looked terrified.

"H-Hail." He sputtered. Bellamy was almost shocked by Hail's fear. He had expected sadistic laughter or something. For him to spit in Bellamy's face and trash talk the two of them. He expected him to fight back more, have confidence. But, the man didn't and Bellamy wondered if Hail hated himself as much as Bellamy hated him.

"She just saved your life, Hail." Bellamy he spat, nodding his head in Clarke's direction. "Your lonely, _miserable_, life. You get to leave - right now, into those woods. And if I ever see you again near my people - I _will _kill you." He released him, and Hail fell to the ground with a cry. But, he was up on his feet just as fast as he had fallen. He pushed past Bellamy and took off running into the woods. He stumbled over a rock, but kept moving - not looking back. Bellamy and Clarke watched him disappear into the darkness. There was a long moment of silence of just them breathing.

Then he turned on her.

"_You_. How? How can you be so senseless!?" He opened his mouth to continue, to yell at her about not having a weapon. He wanted to yell at her that their life wasn't a game where they keep saving each other for tally points. He was still so filled with anger about what Hail had done - _tried_ to do, he wasn't thinking correctly. But, he stopped himself at the look on her face. Her usual strong mask was cracked, and she looked completely shattered. She was not crying, but a tear had escaped her eyes and was rolling down her cheek. Her bottom lip was quivering.

"I... Clarke..." He didn't know what to say. He wanted to lecture her, he wanted to tell her she can't do these things because he _needs_ her. He needs her around. He needs her to help him, challenge him. But, he didn't want to push her about it - because that's not what _she _needs. Not right now. He had never seen her look so fragile.

Her eyes met his, "I know what you were going to say." She choked out. "I should have had my knife. We are in a camp with criminals and I didn't bring my goddamn knife." More tears fell.

Bellamy shook his head, "Stop it."

Clarke closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around him. His eyes widened, not expecting her embrace. He could feel her shivering against him, still shaken up. "Thank you." She whispered into his shoulder. He had been dazed by the contact and her words jolted him to life. His arms came up, envolping her. He hugged her tightly.

"Anytime, Princess." His response was also a whisper. It was not in a playful or cocky tone, it was a caring one. She didn't want to cry in front of him, but she did.

Clarke couldn't even fathom the thought that she had been mad at him just a little bit ago. She had stomped out into the woods for air mad at _him_. And then there he was, right when she needed him. He had gotten there in time. She was ok, but her body was so tired - so overloaded with emotion that the fear and anger had set off. Her fingers gripped the collar of his shirt as she let out a sob into his chest. He held her for a long time. He didn't move. He let her pull at him and cry against him. She needed to let it all out, and she silently thanked him for letting her. It felt like it had been forever when she finally pulled away from him. His eyes were filled with concern when he looked at her.

"Are you going to be ok?" He asked quietly.

Her tears had dried now, she took a deep breath. "Yes." She meant it.

He nodded. He believed her. She was Clarke. She was strong. Bellamy didn't think he would ever respect or admire anyone the way he respected her.

They made their way back to camp slowly in silence. He grabbed her hand in his own and she didn't look down, or look at him to question it. Instead she interlaced her fingers with his. Neither of them had plans to read into it at the moment. The only took comfort from it.

They just wanted tomorrow to come, so they could forget about today.

**A/N: Gah! My longest chapter yet! This was a hard chapter to write. It took me 5 hours! I hope that everyone was written in character. I struggled with it, because of course I **_**wanted **_**to write it where he was a lot more comforting than Bellamy is in reality. We all know he's a good and compassionate guy at heart, but both characters are so strong and stubborn and in some ways selfish. It's a slow build! I hope you are enjoying it!**

**Let me know what you think!**


	4. Road

**A/N: The reviews are awesome and so appreciated! As well as the follows and favorites! Love you guys! Also, sorry again for the typos. I guess I'm just a ditz - despite reading and re-reading. Sigh. I really do try. Thanks for not judging me! Haha!**

**Chapter 4: Road**

Clarke's eyes opened slowly. The first thing that came into focus were the smooth and relaxed features of Bellamy's face. His eyelids were closed and his lips parted slightly as he breathed evenly in sleep. Clarke could barely hear the soft footsteps in the distance of whoever was currently patroling camp. She didn't attempt to move or get up, she only continued to stare. Bellamy was less than a foot away on his own blanket. He looked so peaceful in the dim early morning light. Clarke immediately decided she like him like this - no stress lines, no death glares. _No arrogant little smirks_. The thought brought a weak smile to her own lips. It faltered as she remembered _why _she had slept next to Bellamy Blake all night.

_Their hands broke apart as Clarke approached her blanket and belongings on the ground. She was now completely mentally and physically exhausted - she yearned for sleep. She wanted to lay down and forget everything that had just happened. She wanted to be blissfully numb to the pain throughout her neck and the burning on the bottom of her feet. But, just as Clarke was getting ready to sit down, Bellamy was next to her. He leaned down and started gathering up her things. "What are you doing?" She questioned, her voice weak and tired._

_"You aren't sleeping over here. No more isolating yourself at the edge of camp." Came his quiet reply as he bunched everything up in his arms._

_"Bellamy, I have my weapon now. I'm fine. I just want to lay down." _

_"And you will. But not here." He responded standing up. She felt as if he was towering over her._

_"Where then?"_

_He nodded his head in the direction of the opposite side of camp, "Next to me. And no, it's not negotiable."_

_Clarke sighed and watched his back as he walked away from her with all of her stuff. _Damn him_. She couldn't even fight him on it - she was too tired. She couldn't say that she didn't need his help or protection, because that was obviously not true. Bellamy had caught her from falling into a pit of spikes. He had stopped Dax from pursuing her in their fight outside the emergency bunker, he had shot the knife out of the grounder's hand on the bridge that was going to stab her. And now? Now he had rescued her from one of their own dangerous group members. Despite all of their past arguments and shouting matches and battles on morality - they were there for each other. First as leaders and partners, and now as friends._

Friends. The word felt strange when in relation to Bellamy. Clarke had swore in the beggining she hated him. He was a leader of chaos and rebellion. But, then she started to understand him. He was not the violent person he appeared to be at first. He didn't like bringing pain or death - he just didn't want to die himself. He was protecting himself and his sister - blind to the consequences. Once he realized what they were, they haunted him. And Clarke, like her first instinct with everyone, wanted to help him. And she did. She saved his life and then got him pardoned. Then everything went to shit.

Bellamy sighed in his sleep and her eyes flickered to his. Clarke hadn't wanted to sleep next to him last night, but she was glad she did. She slept well because she felt safe. It was here and now that Clarke knew she would always feel safe next to Bellamy. His eyes were still closed and his breathing was still relaxed. _He's so... handsome. _ She had to suppress the urge to reach out and touch his face. She felt the adrenaline rush through her, causing butterflies in her stomach. _No Clarke. That is a dangerous path you are wanting to go down, and once you start walking it there is no turning back._

Clarke's cheeks turned slightly pink as she became irritated with herself. How could she even _consider_ those kinds of thoughts about Bellamy? They had just reached friendship and her feminine body was already trying to turn the idea into something more. _I get it, stomach, he's a hero. He saves me time and time again. That doesn't mean we have to throw our panties at him like every other girl here. _She fumed at herself. Butterflies? Why? Clarke had already had the inner turmoil conversation with herself about keeping romance-type subjects in a box at the back of her brain. That's where Finn was, and that's where any ridiculous thoughts of Bellamy were going. _Survival first, emotions that shouldn't exist can come later_.

Bellamy's eyes popped open.

The first thing he saw was Clarke staring at him. She looked... frustrated. Her cheeks were flushed, she was biting her bottom lip and Bellamy then realized that her eyes were pointing at him, but she was clearly lost in her own thoughts. "Having a nice big dish of strategy and worry for breakfast?" Bellamy joked, his voice husky from sleep. Her eyes became focused on his. Bellamy didn't miss that her cheek color darkened as Clarke rolled over onto her back to stare at the slowly brightening sky.

"It's colder this morning." She said, ignoring his jest. Her voice was quiet and restrained. Bellamy wondered what she was _actually_ thinking about just a minute ago. He feared she had been torturing herself with thoughts of what almost happened to her last night, and that's the last thing he wanted.

"Well, we could always cuddle." He replied. Her face snapped to look at him and he had his eyebrows raised playfully. One of his classic smirks was plastered on his face.

Clarke was actually happy that he was trying to annoy her. It distracted her from the ridiculous thoughts she was just having about him, "You are unbelievable." She sighed at him, and moved to get up. It was when she stood that she remembered the blisters on her feet. She let out a hiss of pain, crouching in place for a second. Bellamy's lighthearted expression immediately changed to concern. His thoughts were going to the darkest place, wondering if Hail had actually succeeded in hurting her.

"What is it? What's wrong?" He sat up and she looked down at him.

"It's nothing. My feet are just blistered from all the walking. Hurts like a bitch." Clarke breathed, before limping in the direction of some of the food baskets in the middle of camp. People were slowly starting to wake up now. Others were already making their way for some breakfast as well.

"You sure you don't want me to get it?" He felt irritated when she just waved him off instead of answering. _I try to be nice and she's gotta do the princess thing._ He rubbed his hand over his face. As much as he respected and actually liked Clarke now - her stubborn ways still got under his skin. Yes, he had been an ass in the past... Ok, he was still regularly kind of an ass. But, he was trying to be kind and keep her mind away from what had happened last night. Bellamy had a feeling that Clarke really didn't want to think or talk about it. He knew she hadn't wanted to sleep next to him, but it made _him_ feel better to have her close. Clarke was his partner and his friend, and he found himself caring about her a lot more than he originally expected. Bellamy was not the best at showing his care for people - he even struggled with it when it came to Octavia.

Bellamy watched Clarke grab her ration for the morning and head to the opposite edge of camp. She plopped down and opened the little pouch to eat by her lonesome. He sighed. Neither of them really had any other friends. Bellamy confessed to himself that it was lonely sometimes. It was hard feeling like you needed to constantly isolate yourself. Sure, he had slept with lots of women - but that was not the same as just enjoying someone's company. With how often he was spending time coming up with a plan or protecting people there just wasn't a lot of time to be a social butterfly. So, when Clarke had limped over to the edge by herself he couldn't help but feel frustrated with her again. _Stop being a pansy. She had a hard night - it's not like she hates you. And you are weak for even thinking about any of this shit._

Bellamy's back straightened when he realized Finn was grabbing a ration from one of the baskets and was making his way over to Clarke. There was something about it that he didn't like, but he swallowed the feeling. _Like I said. Pansy._

Clarke was snacking on fruit and nuts, staring into the distance of the forest. Her mind was replaying the night before, no matter how much she wanted it to stop. She would have preferred contemplating thoughts of Finn or Bellamy to it - Remembering Hail's hands pinning her to the tree, moving to push down her pants. The shooting pain down her neck when her head had collided with the bark. She was shaking with anger. Why did she forget her weapon? If Bellamy hadn't followed them she wasn't sure what would have happened. Though, deep down Clarke knew that she probably would have lost the battle. She remembered how furious Bellamy was, beating the guy into a pulp. His eyes had been filled with fire.

Finn's hand on her shoulder made her jump. She gasped and nearly dropped her breakfast.

"Woah! Sorry. I didn't meant to scare you."

Clarke glared daggers at him. She sighed, "What do you want, Finn?"

He was staring at the pouch of food in his hands, avoiding eye contact. Clarke studied his features. Everything about the two of them flashed through her mind. How they had become fast friends the first couple days. The 'art supply store'. His lips on hers, laying together on the couch... His lips on Raven's. _Damnit, box. You are not doing a good job of keeping shit locked up. _Clarke hid the flash of pain she had felt, remembering everything.

"I wanted to apologize... I shouldn't have said that crap about you being mad at me and your decision making. I just... I want us to be ok." Finn took a deep breath before he continued, "I care about you, Clarke. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about Raven. I started to fall for you so fast and I didn't think-"

Clarke felt like she was alway cutting him off, but she needed to. She needed to for both of their sanity. "Finn... stop." His mouth opened and then closed again. His eyes stared into hers. He was standing above her, still just holding his pouch of breakfast.

Clarke knew saying all of this was going to hurt her. Because, despite always being such a strong and independant personality - she had been starting to fall for Finn too. He had wanted to understand her and make her feel alive. For the few days they had spent with each other the weight of the world had felt easier. And then Raven showed up and reality came crashing down like a giant hammer. Clarke didn't want to be in a love triangle. As sweet and wonderful as Finn was, she knew that he _did _still love Raven. She was decent enough to walk away. Because Raven didn't deserve any of the drama. Plus, as she was always fucking telling herself, living comes first.

"I care about you too. I want to be friends, and I want to forgive you. But... that's all I want: friendship. You love Raven, and that's great. Be with her, she needs you... I really don't want to hear anything about falling for anyone. I just want to worry about all of us making it through winter." Clarke was blunt. Her tone was strong, but the pain was evident and Finn heard it. He wouldn't fight her on it though. As much as a part of him did love Clarke, she was right about Raven. He did love her, and she did need him.

"Yeah... ok." She heard his footsteps walk away from her, and she fought the tears coming to her eyes.

_Impecable timing. And it's only first light. Today is already a winner. _Her thoughts were bitter and she took in a deep breath before releasing it. Not feeling hungry anymore - she threw the rest of her breakfast into the forest angrily...

The walk was miserable. Her feet were in pain, her neck was throbbing and her stomach was already rumbling. Clarke was mad at herself for not finishing her food this morning. They were into hour four of the day's journey and she was already exhausted and sweaty. As usual, Bellamy was to her right and she could feel his eyes burning holes into the side of her face every now and then. She had a feeling he felt like she would break down at any second about last night. But, if she was being honest, Clarke didn't have a bone in her body with enough energy to care about anything except how badly she wanted to stop walking.

Bellamy couldn't help but glance at Clarke every now and then. He would look at Octavia on his other side too, but his sister's dark looks that said "fuck you" stopped being worth checking in. Octavia still hated him, which wasn't surprising. He wasn't reapproaching that argument any time soon. His eyes kept wondering to Clarke because he could tell she still had a limp about her and her yellow maine was sticking to the sides of her face. She looked absolutely drained and Bellamy was worried that he was going to wind up carrying her soon. The group was making good time today and Bellamy knew that if he stopped them all for Clarke that she would throw a fit.

This time when he glanced at her it was because she had stopped walking. She was looking ahead with a smile on her face. "Bellamy - it's a road." She breathed. When Clarke's eyes met his she was grinning at him.

Sure enough, when he looked up ahead there was a street visible. They walked all the way up until their toes were at its edge. The pavement was old and ruined. It was riddled with cracks and weeds growing up from between them. In some places slabs of the concrete were jutting up awkwardly. The group was chattering excitedly, whispering to each other about the new finding. Several of them were smiling hopefully.

Clarke was the first to take a step onto it. Even through her shoes the terrain was so different from anything she had walked on before. She winced from her feet burning, but was still smiling despite it. "We can follow this to Winchester." She announced happily.

"Winchester?" Bellamy asked, raising his eyebrow. Clarke nodded, still grinning.

"The city! We still have a way to go until we reach the base, but there might be shelter in the city - supplies even." She replied. The chatter of the group got louder with this news. Bellamy jerked his head in the direction they were going to take down the road.

"You heard the woman. To Winchester!" He barked. There were hollers and 'woops!' from everyone as they made their way down the broken road...

The view of the city was depressing at first. There was a lot of rubble and debris. Lots of, what you could tell used to be, streets and buildings had been taken back by the forest. It was Finn who saw the first hope of shelter and called out - pointing in its direction. "Clarke! That building - it looks still intact." He had moved his way up closer to the front of the group when he'd said it. There was a structure in the distance that Clarke recognized from old pictures and books. It appeared to have been some kind of school or college. The size of it suggested it had been a university. However, only one of the main buildings still stood. All of the smaller parts had crumbled down to piles of concrete and framing.

Trees and plants had grown around it. It had vines and ivy growing down its sides. But, the doors and the outter walls of the building itself had almost looked untouched by any actual destruction. This brought hope to Clarke that maybe other buildings had survived and perhaps they would be able to find real tools or medical supplies.

Clarke and Bellamy were the first two at the double doors. Both were surpised and amazed that the glass was still in place, dusty but unharmed. The bronze words "BRANDT STUDENT CENTER" read above the entrace. The first 'E' in center was missing.

The rest of the 90 or so kids were waiting patiently behind them. Everyone was silent this time, as if they were holding their breath. Bellamy felt like there was a drum roll hanging in the air as he slowly reached to open one of the doors. It made a sharp scraping sound as he pushed it and Bellamy flinched, half expecting the whole building to collapse when it happened. The air hit him in the face instantly. It was a powerful gust of a musty and stale smell. The roof directly above the entrance had a skylight that was broken, so the first thing Bellamy noticed was the water damage in the front hall. There was some shattered glass surrounding the area, but after that the place was... almost perfect.

The building was dusty. The rooms had furniture knocked around and the occasional window was broken. But, the temperature was quite a bit warmer than the outside and after Bellamy and a few other scouts checked the perimeters of the building, they decided to call it home... Temporarily, of course. The end game plan was still finding the military base and seeing if it had anything to offer. With the amount of war and paranoia surrounding in 100 years ago, Clarke was pretty hopeful that there had to be _something_. That was why she and Bellamy had decided that the two of them would leave for the potential base tomorrow. Alone... And the word "decided" was kind of relative.

The two of them were in one of the old offices. Everyone else was setting up camp inside the rest of the building. The group was excited to be inside a real shelter for a change.

"You want to leave everyone here? Who are we going to put in charge?" Clarke had her hands on her hips. Her tone was weak and tired. There were dark circles under her eyes and she seemed even paler than usual. Bellamy almost second guessed himself, wondering if she could make the trip. But, the thought of leaving her here after what happened... _Hell no_.

Bellamy sighed and ran a hand over his face, "I was thinking Finn and Miller. Finn, because you trust him, and people listen to Miller."

Clarke was staring at the wall behind him now, thinking it over. Her eyes flicked back to his, "Why just us? Shouldn't we take a small group or something? Plus, I'm half dead on my feet, Bellamy." Her eyelids were starting to flutter tiredly and she swayed in her spot.

"Woah, woah... easy, Princess." Bellamy said, stepping forward. He reached out as if to grab for her, but Clarke steadied herself and put up her hand to signal him 'no'.

"I'm fine." Her voice was a snap. Bellamy's expression hardened.

"Good. Then you'll be fine for the trip in the morning. It's barely the evening right now, you have plenty of time to rest up." His smirk was cold. He brushed past her to leave the room. Clarke scoffed at him and glared as his back as the door closed behind him.

In part it made some sense. The less people they took on the trip, the less people they had to worry about. It also meant less food they had to take. They didn't have to worry about slowing down for any particular person. Clarke wanted to tell him that he needed to take someone else, that she could stay back and keep an eye on things. But, she had the map. The whole thing was her idea. Plus, she figured that wasn't the _main _reason he didn't want to leave her here. Clarke didn't know what to think about Bellamy suddenly becoming this protective person of her. She didn't want to think about it, it made those pesky butterflies come out from hiding again. Clarke remembered how he had stiffened when she rejected his help just a minute ago. It had appeared to sting him, and he had been trying to hide it. But, Clarke was just _so _tired of looking weak to him. This was not her. She was independant. A fighter.

She didn't give up in the face of exhaustion or get violated in the woods. She didn't get flustered at stupid thoughts of dumb boys and their handsome faces.

Except for the part where _apparently _she did.

Clarke stared at the door where Bellamy had left for a minute in thought. Soon she layed out her blanket on the floor and curled up for sleep.

She had no idea that Bellamy was on the other side of the door, sitting against the wall with his gun. And he was feeling just as stupid and frustrated with himself as she was.

**A/N: I'm soooo sorry that it took so long to update! I can not even TELL you what kind of work week I have had, because it is so stressful I'd rather not. But, I hope you liked it and I am working on the next chapter tomorrow! Thank you SO MUCH for all of the follows and reviews! It keeps the inspiration going!**


	5. Strong

**A/N: First things first, I can't believe how many followers that I am up to! I am so glad that you have all had positive things to say about the story! THANK YOU, SO MUCH! I love you all!**

**Secondly, I know! It's been over a week since I've updated (please don't hit me)! Real life sucks. That's why I'm usually playing video games between working - to escape the stress that is adulthood! Anyways, the season finale is tonight and I'm SO DEPRESSED. I do not want to wait until Fall for all of my shows - especially The 100! In honor of tonight I am writing this chapter today and I'm going to try my best to have another one up ****tomorrow****! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 5: Strong**

When Clarke awoke from a decent night's sleep she felt a hell of a lot better than she did the day before. The moment her eyes snapped open she breathed a sigh of relief. She loved the fact that she was in the comfort of a warm building and in, currently, her own room. The small office she had slept in had little more than a desk, a chair and an empty books shelf. A couple of the books were scattered on the floor, dusty and ruined. There was an occasional piece of paper stuck to the old carpeting, that smelled musty and old. Despite how aged and broken everything in the room looked, Clarke couldn't help but enjoy its presence immensely in comparison to the metal and machine hum of the Ark. She was sitting up now, scanning the room with a small smile on her face. Clarke hoped that wherever they found as a permanent home could be more like this and less like a city of poorly built tents.

Clarke made a promise to herself about today. She was going to be stronger. She was tired of feeling weak, looking weak and acting weak. It was changing how she felt about herself and it seemed as though it was changing how Bellamy saw her... which she was still internally trying to figure out why that was relevant to her. The way Bellamy had always looked at Clarke before the Exodus ship crashed was with respect. They were leaders and they had had a mutual respect for each other. Clarke had shown care for Bellamy, at times, because that was her instinct. Clarke cared about people - even if half of the time they were assholes, because for some of them (_like Bellamy_) there was a bigger picture. For those like Murphy and Hail though - there was only evil.

Clarke's feet were a little less sore today, so her limp was not as prominent. She had attempted to use a handful of her canteen water to wipe off her face and ran a couple fingers through her hair. She was desperate to feel somewhat cleaned up. She opened the office door into the main hall and was surprised to find that many of the group were awake and eating breakfast. They were talking and laughing. They seemed cheerful and cozy. Clarke smiled at this. But, her smile faltered when she wondered how long she had been sleeping. A group was coming through the front doors with fresh meat kills and collected fruit rations. They had huge grins on their faces and a bunch of the kids cheered and hollered when they lifted their findings to the air in victory. _A hunting party went out?_

Clarke heard someone walk up next to her, "I had to make sure everyone is going to be well fed while we are gone." It was Bellamy. Clarke wanted to groan in frustration. The trip. She had already forgotten about the trip. "We've lost enough light. We need to get moving." He finished.

Clarke turned to glare at him, "Why didn't you just wake me up?"

"I felt like keeping both of my arms." Bellamy jested dryly and moved to head towards the hunting party. Clarke grabbed his arm and made him face her.

"It's special treatment, Bellamy. I don't like it."

He narrowed his eyes, "I was organizing food groups, patrol groups and trying to get Finn and Miller to agree on shit. You sleeping late had nothing to do with me giving a damn." He stated in a matter-of-fact tone. Clarke hated that she blushed a little bit, feeling stupid. He handed her a real backpack. "I borrowed one of these off of somebody so that you can have an actual pack. Get your shit and lets go."

There wasn't much to bring since they obviously had to travel light. Clarke packed her water canteen, some apples, nuts and her knife. The more room in her pack for supplies the better. Lastly, she stuffed the large map in her pocket. Once she decided that she was ready, she moved through the crowd to wait for Bellamy outside the front doors. There were four men on patrol, standing with guns ready. One of them was Tim, who nodded at her with a short smile. It was a few minutes before Bellamy appeared at the double doors and walked to stand beside her. He looked at Tim, "Alright. We might be gone for a few days. You officially report to Miller or Finn until we get back." The four men nodded once in response.

The two of them started walking away from the school building into the forest that was once a city, "Are you going to be able to handle not getting to play god for a few days?" Clarke joked snidely. Bellamy rolled his eyes.

"Didn't sleep well, Princess?" He asked, not even tossing her a glance. She knew he was referring to her being snarky and all she did was sigh in response. After that they walked in silence for awhile...

What used to be Winchester was mostly just trees now. There was rubble here and there on either side of the broken roads. It was all covered in leaves and vines. The occasional building that was mostly standing would be there, but looked as if a strong gust of wind would blow them over. Neither Clarke or Bellamy had found anything that looked searchable for supplies. They continued to walk through the ghost city, which felt eerie, until they found the main highway leading out.

"We can follow this. It should lead us in the right direction. There's also lots of water sources along it... at least there used to be." Clarke spoke quietly. It felt strange to break the silence after being in it for almost an hour.

"Sounds good." He replied shortly. And then the silence continued.

They walked for a few hours down the highway. There was nothing but the sound of the occasional bird and their footsteps on concrete. It was a little warmer today than it had been yesterday, but Clarke knew there had to of been frost on the ground this morning. Clarke was beginning to worry about where she and Bellamy could find warm shelter for the nights coming up. And as much as Clarke had started off the day with wanting to be strong and independent, she was also worried about their whole trip being in awkward silence. The tone of today was unpleasant and Clarke wasn't enjoying it. She had a distinct feeling she was just coming off bitchy. _I really am just losing my shit, aren't I?_

Bellamy didn't really know what the fuck was going on in his head anymore. Now that the group was in a safe and warm spot for the time being, Bellamy needed something new to worry about - because on Earth, there is no such thing as being happy and comfortable. So, that was part of the reason he wanted this little mission to find the military base with Clarke. It would give him a new project. He wanted Clarke with him because she was his partner, and because that small, naggy, part of his body that liked to care for people didn't want to leave her at camp with anymore potential rapists. He was relieved that she looked like she was feeling better today. However, her attitude was rather sour. Bellamy had a feeling he had been crossing some lines with her bullheaded personality when it came to seeming protective.

Bellamy was not particularly enjoying the silence. He didn't really know what to talk about, but it was extremely awkward. And he felt like she was angry and not fessing up as to why. He just kept walking, side by side with her, holding is gun in one hand with his pack flung over his opposite shoulder. With all of the traveling, Bellamy found himself feeling thirsty.

"My canteen is almost empty." He said, taking a sip from it as they walked. Clarke pulled the map from her pocket and looked it over.

"There's supposed to be a creek not far up. Assuming it's still there." She replied simply, folding the map back up. Bellamy nodded.

Sure enough, to both of their surprise, there was a pond just off the road the had a creek flowing from it. They made their way down the short hillside to the pond. It was sizable - almost like a small lake. Clarke filled her own canteen before finding a spot on a nearby rock and pulling an apple out of her bag. They both needed a bit of a break.

"Any ideas on shelter?" Bellamy asked. He was kneeling at the edge of the pond, gathering up water in his hands and splashing his face.

Clarke had the map in her lap as she chewed on her apple. It made a loud crunch and Clarke tried not to moan in satisfaction at the sweet taste of the fruit. "Hmm... not unless we get lucky with an old house out here that is still standing. A lot of the stuff off this highway was probably houses with acres of land." She was studying the map with concentration.

The water was pretty cold, but Bellamy didn't care. The fresh feeling on his face was wonderful. He had asked the question, but he was barely listening to Clarke's reply. What he really wanted to do was take a bath. He shrugged off his jacket and pulled the deep gray shirt over his head, tossing it behind him. Next he kicked off his shoes and pulled off his socks. It was when the sound of his zipper was audible that Clarke looked up from the paper and paused in her chewing.

"What are you doing?" She questioned. Her head snapped to look to the side - away from him when his pants dropped, revealing him just in his underwear.

Bellamy chuckled and grinned at her uncomfortable expression - looking anywhere but at him. "What does it look like? We haven't had a decent washing in days. Now that things are a little more relaxed, I'd like to clean myself up." And with that, he jumped in the water. The icy cold water. Clarke couldn't help but laugh at his expression when his head emerged and he groaned. His mouth was in a thin line and his eyes tightly shut. She tried to keep it silent, covering her mouth with her hand. But, her whole body shook with laughter.

"Cold, Bellamy?"

"A bit." He ground out, just standing still in the water. It was up to his shoulders. It felt like thousands of ice-needles covering his body. He took a deep slow breath, shutting down the urge to cry out.

"You are such an idiot. If you get sick, what the hell am I supposed to do?" She questioned. She was trying to sound angry, but she was still laughing at him.

"J-just get me m-my clothes." He responded, irritation in his voice, swimming stiffly to the edge. Clarke set the map and her food down on the large rock and walked over picking up his stuff.

"They are just going to be wet when you put them back on." Clarke said, holding out the shirt with both hands so it covered him from her view when he climbed out of the water.

"Would you prefer that I continue our walk naked?" He replied snatching the shirt from her, shivering. This time she didn't look away, she just held out his pants with one hand, staring at his face. His eyes met hers as he grabbed them from her and rushed to pull them on.

"I'd prefer you not try to catch hypothermia." She sighed with annoyance, dropping his jacket at his feet and walking back to her rock to gather up her stuff. "We need to find shelter. We are losing daylight. And it's important we get you warm." She continued. Bellamy picked up his jacket and shrugged it on, watching her zip up her pack. How could she go from playful back to cold so fast? _Dumb question, you do the same thing_. He reminded himself, grabbing his own backpack.

The houses that could have stood along the highway weren't going to be visible with the over growth of trees and plants over the last 97 years. So they ventured off down what looked like _used _to be a side road in hopes of _some _sort of shelter. Clarke would gladly take an old shed or something - it might even have tools. But, most of what they found were piles of wood and wreckage. As the sun was starting to go down the temperature was starting to decrease. Clarke was worried about Bellamy's cold hair and damp clothes as it went down. It was a half an hour before they noticed the hint of what used to be a long winding drive way. They followed the path, shivering, until it came to yet _another _stack of rubble.

"What's that on the side?" Bellamy asked in a harsh whisper, pointing at two metal double doors on the ground. They were on the side of the house, next to the rubble.

"Oh wow. It could be a basement." Clarke replied hopefully, speeding up her pace to the doors. She gave them a hard tug. They were stuck.

"Let me do it." Bellamy said walking up. He kicked down on the doors a couple times, making a loud bang. But when he finally went to pull them open, they budged with ease, causing a metal hiss and squeak.

The basement was small and very dusty. It smelled of rotting wood and wet concrete, but it was warm. Bellamy pulled a make-shift flashlight from his bag and scanned the room. It was mostly empty. Part of the back was caved in from the fallen house, but they still had a good amount of room. The looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

"I'll go get firewood." Clarke said, grabbing her knife from her pack and putting her stuff on the hard floor. Bellamy nodded, "Alright. Be careful." He wasn't going to argue with her about how he'd rather do it, because he didn't feel like fighting. Her footsteps disappeared up the stairs an into the wilderness. Bellamy used the flashlight to continue looking for anything useful in the small dungeon. There were a couple metal shelving units, but all of them empty... save for one small metal box on the bottom shelf of one. It was a faded red color and Bellamy recognized what it looked like. A smile grew on his face as he walked over to it, letting his hand rub the side of the dusty metal. Tools would be a dream come true.

And sure enough when he opened the box there were wrenches, hammers, nails... the whole deal. _Hell yes!_

Clarke could barely contain her excitement when she returned twenty minutes later and Bellamy showed her his finding. Tools! Not enough for all 90-something people to use, but it was a start. Raven would be ecstatic. The only issue was it was a heavy thing to carry around for two more days. They had decided it was best to leave the box hidden near the pond by the highway and pick it up on their way back. Clarke had built a fire in the center of the room with the dry branches she had found and they had discussed it on their blankets by the fire's warmth. They had eaten a little bit dinner and now were relaxing in silence, staring at the flames.

"I'm sorry about today." Clarke spoke suddenly. She had been in thought while she searched for branches and twigs out in the woods alone. She knew that she had been stupid all day, acting frosty. They were friends now. Acting independent didn't mean treating him like he had done something wrong. There was nothing wrong with Bellamy suddenly caring about Clarke and her safety - and for whatever reason, that was how Clarke had been acting. She was still a strong person. Just because the incident in the woods with Hail had put a dent in her armor didn't mean she wasn't still strong. And it was kind of Bellamy to act the way he did. _Everyone needs somebody sometimes. _Everything was just so stressful lately that as every day went by Clarke felt like she was losing more and more of her rational thought and her grip on her emotions.

Bellamy was sitting directly next to her. He had turned his head to look at her face, "Sorry about what?"

Clarke sighed and continued staring at the fire. If they were friends, she should just be honest with him. Was that really so hard? "I've been distant today. And yesterday, really."

Bellamy continued looking at her face with concerned eyes, "Clarke... I don't expect you to want to talk about what happened." He replied in reference to Hail. Clarke shook her head.

"It's not even really _just _that." Her eyes finally met his, "What Hail tried to do was disgusting and mortifying. But, the pathetic part is that's not what has me shaken up."

Bellamy felt the hairs on his neck stand up. He felt a little out of his element, but at the same time being by the campfire with Clarke was comfortable. The situation just felt backwards. Clarke was always the one talking Bellamy up. Now, the conversation was heading in a direction where it was going to be Bellamy's turn to lift Clarke and, in a way, it felt terrifying.

"What he almost succeeded in made me feel weak. If you hadn't shown up, it would have happened. And I have never felt that kind of powerless before. I can normally walk away from a situation on my own, with my head held high. But, when you were there - I was glad, because I _needed_ you. And I have never needed anyone in that kind of way before." Clarke was looking at the fire again. In that moment she realized maybe it wasn't just Hail and Bellamy's comfort lately that had been bothering her. "My mother died. And when she did I think a small piece of my strength went with her. I think I was changing before Hail even touched me."

"You are still a strong and independent person, Clarke. You are not fragile for hurting after either of those situations... And I'm sorry if I over stepped any boundaries." Bellamy said honestly, now also looking at the fire. It was hard for him to say it.

"You didn't. I just didn't know how to react. Our friendship is new. And taking care of everyone is just so hard. I haven't been able to figure out my own thoughts and emotions... But, thank you. For caring about me." Clarke replied honestly, looking at him again. For a second she almost wanted to take the statement back, worried that she had read his kindness incorrectly.

"I guess I'm not the monster I thought I was." He smirked. He wasn't showing it, but Bellamy was feeling awkward. It had been stated before that Bellamy didn't do well with emotions or caring about people. But, he _did _care about Clarke. And he was happy that she had opened up to him. For once, in a while, he didn't feel like he needed to isolate himself.

Clarke smiled and nudged him with her shoulder, "Just a dumb-ass who jumps naked into frozen ponds."

"Ok, we can keep pretending you didn't enjoy it. And I wasn't _naked_... I had underwear on." He replied in mock defense.

When they finally fell asleep by the firelight they never knew that they wound up cuddling.

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**A/N: For a short chapter, this took me a long time. I can't tell you how many parts I re-wrote because it didn't feel right. But, I think I'm rather happy with the result. And I **_**swear **_**I tried to weed out all the typos, so I apologize if any of them slipped through my radar! **

**Gimme your thoughts!**


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